I started playing this game so that I could make fun of it (I mean really, pigeon dating sim?), but I kept playing because I became emotionally invested in the characters and the story. This may start out as a dating sim but it EVOLVES into something... else. I don't even know how to describe it. I was mashing that damn space bar like it was nobirdies business.

10/10 Blew my gorram mind.

One of my favorite games! Or rather, one of my favorite stories. This is a visual novel and real, game-changing choices are limited: you will follow the tracks you pick like a choose-you-own-adventure book, with fairly limited endings. It's a great "book" though, and one I encourge you to read through!

It helps if you've played at least one "traditional" dating sim (or watched a harem anime) before. I think it might be more enjoyable if you know the tropes and character archtypes that are being played with here.

The "true" ending of the game is unlockable after completing romantic routes with the main dateable cast. I try not to talk about it with those who haven't played the game because it really is best to go into it unspoiled. It is a very intense story that will answer some questions about the setting. The main game plays with no worldbuilding, assuming you (as the character) have lived in the world your whole life and do not need the history of the bird world explained. The true end (titled "Hurtful Boyfriend" or "BBL") opens up and tells you (as the player) what's really going on. The whole truth, however, you'll need to discover for yourself, as information is given piece by suspensful piece as you realize how the characters are connected in a complex web that you probably won't expect.

I bought the original version of this game a few years before the steam release, at the recommendation of a friend who LUVED it. I only played a few routes on that version, but I liked it enough to purchase the updated version for sale here on steam. The steam release is an updated version of the original game with newly drawn graphics, higher quality pigeon pictures, and most importantly a smoother, easier to read text box. This version also includes a new side route to romance Azami. I think it says something that I happily bought this game twice.

Then, if you like the game and want more of this story, check out the sequel (Holiday Star), the manga side stories, and the drama CDS. None of which are essential to enjoying the game, but are also very enjoyable in their own right!

Where to start... well at first it seems like all jokes and fun, this game has plot thicker than Kim Kardashian's ♥♥♥ and it will leave you laughing and crying.

a seemingly innocent game masking a tragic backstory.

on the surface, hatoful boyfriend seems like a silly, shallow bird dating simulator, but i was taken aback at how quickly it became dark. the ending was certainly an unexpected twist; every detail fell into place perfectly. the plot is, really, nothing short of incredible.

however, the ending, specifically, has no replay value. can't unsee what you read. the ending also requires a bit of dedication in order to unlock the bbl ending option. a nice game though, i'd recommend it to anyone looking for an indepth story in a short amount of time.

but i'm never looking at birds the same way again

berd

How talented must an author be to cause so many people to cry and lust over birds
11/11

I went into it thinking it would be quirky highschool ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥t my friends and I could laugh at. It wasn't.

I can't say a whole lot without spoiling it but there is a lot more going on in this thing than a satirical jab at a popular genre of japanese gaming and anyone with a Hotel Dusk itch that needs scratching should consider playing it sometime.

As you play the normal routes you receive clues that not everything as it seems. The characters are ACTUALLY birds, and you are ACTUALLY a human going to a Japanese bird school. This isn't played for laughs in the writing, even during the normal routes.

There's no "good end bad end" endings but "non-canon" endings where, quite simply, you survive and successfully romance a bird (Except a few endings but you'll find those if you play).

The BBL (Bad Boys Love): Hurtful Boyfriend ending unlocks when you've received all fourteen endings. BBL tells the canon story of the Hatoful world, explaining WHY you, Hiyoko Tosaka, are a human coexisting with highly evolved birds.

It's a long convoluted story, taking approximately four hours to complete. The BBL ending plays like a normal route until about halfway through the school year, when Hiyoko is murdered.

Sh*t hits the fan, and you don't have choices like a normal route. The game turns into a visual novel, only requiring you to click along to continue the dialogue and reveal the story.

I think Hatoful's only real flaw (besides some typos, notably in Nageki's BBL ending) is the monotony if you're trying to unlock all the endings at once. Luckily there's a fast forward button.

This is a good story. The Planet of the Apes scenario works well, and you become less concerned that this school is for birds, and more interested in the characters and why things have been a little weird this whole time. It takes dating game tropes and turns them into its own.

Hatoful completely flips the direction of typical dating games, to tell a good story, and remains self-aware the whole time.

I really like this game and encourage people who enjoy strong writing to play it. 10/10. Would attend birb school again.

I bought this game to date pidgeons...

... then it made me cry horribly... more than once... ;_;

One of the best stories I've experienced in a long time. It made me laugh, cry, stare in bewilderment. There is so much more to this game than I ever thought possible... I love this game so much and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone, to all those people that have not recommended it with 2 or less hours put into it, they didn't give it nearly enough time to actually get to know the real game... Please give this amazing game a chance, I promise you won't regret it